In Palestine, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere, the Arab people, including women and children, have suffered massive violence and cruelties in recent times. There is a famous Hindi poem by Dushyant Kumar which says—when the sorrow has become (as massive as) the Himalayan mountains, a river (of resistance for reducing this distress) must surely arise from this.
Certainly a lot of Arab resistance has already existed at so many levels, but all this taken together has not been able to prevent Arabs from suffering violence and distress in the most cruel ways as well as the destruction of entire countries.
Hence it is time for the Arab people to start thinking of new forms of resistance based on much greater and broader unity, non-violence and sustainability as well as continuity for a long time. These struggles must be able to get the approval and support of all people worldwide who value justice and peace.
Such a path definitely would need a clear vision for the Arab people and region based on a future of peace and justice, inclusive and sustainable development and environment protection. Such a vision should seek to take along other ethnicities of the region, such as the Kurd people, and closer cooperation with several neighboring countries such as Iran should be sought.
Forces of justice and peace all over the Arab world should mobilize to create a clear vision of what a united Arab world, united not by opposition of anyone in particular but instead united by devoted pursuit of what is best for the welfare of its own people based on inclusivity, justice including gender justice, peace, non-discrimination, sustainable development, protection of environment and biodiversity. An important aspect of this vision would be to work out how the resources of the region can be best used and prioritized for the welfare of all people, taking equal care also of all ethnic and religious minorities as well.
Such a vision should be taken to as many people as possible in the form of not just reports but also in the form of literature, music and cinema and various educational programs so that more and more people start thinking and discussing in terms of such an alternative vision of Arab society and are inspired by this, instead of their thinking remaining in the narrow sphere of what people have seen and experienced in most of their life.
The Arab region has enough resources to meet adequately and on sustainable basis the needs of all people including of course the Palestinians. Yet what has been seen in recent times is that several countries and vast areas have been destroyed. In countries and lands where despite several problems people were able to meet their needs in satisfactory ways and lead secure life, what has happened is that several million of these people are denied such satisfactory and secure life now and several million have been displaced and uprooted from their homes. Several hundred thousand people have died prematurely in very painful ways and this is something that was clearly avoidable. What really happened? Who is responsible?
When such questions are asked and debated people get worked up, understandably, and want to do something very quickly. Sometimes they manage to get some short-term results but more often the hurry and the anger stand in the way of achieving any durable and significant good results. Hence it is important first to have a clear understanding of what is the alternative society that must be aimed at. While this will certainly involve peaceful, firm, principled resistance to all oppressors, this will also involve self-reform so that people can get rid of their narrowness such as sectarianism, the Shia-Sunni and other divisions etc. Such efforts include struggle and resistance on the one hand and various kinds of constructive work and social reform on the other hand.
While there are many difficulties on this path, this is also a path of great satisfaction and solidarity, of creativity and commitment. This is why if such efforts are made with adequate planning and care, after a certain stage there will be many committed people in this caravan to take forward the vision of a new Arab land and region based on justice, inclusivity, peace and environment protection.
This effort should also reach out to all true forces and organizations of justice and peace in all parts of the world, not excluding the USA and Israel.
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Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Protecting Earth for Children, Man over Machine, Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.
Featured image: Protests against Israel’s genocide continued across the country as the official death toll passed 40,000. Photo: Pip Hinman
